The Pension Landscape Sweden

The most distinctive aspect of the statutory pension in Sweden are pension accounts composed of the earnings-related pension, titled Income Pension, as well as a smaller funded share, the so called ‘Premium Pension’. The benefits are calculated on the bases of the paid contributions while also reflecting the life expectancy and a certain projected income growth. Furthermore, there is an income-tested Guarantee Pension that secures the basic needs. Over 90 % of Sweden’s workforce are covered by occupational pension schemes that are, in general, based on nationwide collective bargaining agreements with a highly standardized framework.

Statutory Pension

Provider/
Institution:

Pensionsmyndigheten (Swedish Pensions Agency, SPA)

Statutory national
retirement
pension:

The statutory pension insurance is obligatory for all employees, self-employed and Swedish residents. The system consists of three components:

Guarantee Pension:

Income-tested pension for people with no or low income pension and at least 3 years of residency in Sweden or an EU/EEA State.

Additional housing supplement and maintenance support if the conditions are met.

Maximum guaranteed benefit of SEK 94 788 per year (2019) for a single or 25 % of gross average earnings after 40 years of residency in Sweden or an EU/EES state.

Financed by general taxes

Income Pension:

The benefits are calculated on the basis of lifetime earnings reported to the system

Financed on a pay-as-you-go basis through the mechanism of a notionally defined-contribution system

Contribution of 16 % of pension base (pension-qualifying income and pension-qualifying amounts)

Premium Pension:

Additional fully funded, employee-financed system

Benefits result from individual income and rate of return

Contribution of 2.5 % of pensionable income

Free choice where to invest the contribution

The total contribution for the statutory old-age pension is 18.5% (paid by the employer and the employee). The maximum pensionable income that contributions are paid for amounts to 7.5 times the annual income base amount (in 2019: 7.5 x SEK 64 400 = SEK 483 000).

Occupational Pension

Coverage
rate:

90 % of workforce is covered by occupational pension schemes established on the basis of collective bargaining agreements

Mandatory/
voluntary:

Non-obligatory by law
Compulsory insurance on collective agreements
Voluntary occupational pension insurance for employed and self-employed person not covered by compulsory insurance

Tax incentives:

Contributions to a tax-approved scheme are tax-deductible up to a certain limit. But employee contributions are rare.

Private Pension

Products:

Traditional insurance, fund insurance, bank saving plans.

Tax incentives:

Contributions are tax deductible under certain conditions

Pension Tracking

If you have been saving for a pension in Sweden, the minpension service will help you figure out how much money you will receive (from your Swedish pension claims), once you retire.

To get started, you have to log in. There are three different ways to do so (logga in).You can log in with your Pensions Agency PIN which you can easily order from a link at minpension.se or with e-identification or Bank ID instead.

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